Questions, answered

No. HopDesk is free for hoppers. Find a venue on the map (we call them HopSpots), check in, and buy what you like while you are there: a coffee, some lunch, a pint later. There is no membership and no day rate.

It depends on the HopSpot. Many are walk-in, and some let you reserve a table through HopDesk for free. Each listing says which, so check before you travel.

Every HopSpot lists its facilities before you set off, including Wi-Fi, power, quiet areas and whether it is call friendly. When you check in, the Wi-Fi name and password appear in HopDesk where the venue shares it, so you can get online without asking at the bar.

Look for “Call friendly” on the listing. Some HopSpots also list a quiet area or phone booths.

That is up to each HopSpot, and it is on their listing. Most are happy for you to settle in for a few hours during their quieter parts of the day.

Each HopSpot sets its own hopper hours, shown on its listing. Many welcome hoppers from morning to lunch and again from early afternoon to late afternoon, and some larger venues offer an all-day HopDesk area.

The venue's regular customers always come first, so a HopSpot can fill up at busy times. If it is full, the map shows other HopSpots nearby, and where a venue offers table reservations, booking ahead avoids the problem. We are also working on showing each HopSpot's busiest times and when space is likely to free up, so you can plan your visit before you set off.

There is no membership fee, no contract and no desk to rent. You work from welcoming local venues and pay only for the food and drink you enjoy, and every visit supports independent hospitality businesses and the communities they serve.

Every HopSpot has a HopDesk QR code on the tables or the bar. Scan it with your phone camera, sign in once, and you are checked in.

No. HopDesk runs in your phone's browser at app.hopdeskhere.com, so there is nothing to install.

One flat subscription: £42 a month or £495 a year, plus VAT, after a two-month free trial. See pricing for the details.

You do. Payments from hoppers go straight into your own Stripe account and HopDesk never holds your money. You are the merchant, so it reaches your bank on your normal Stripe payout schedule.

No. You keep everything you sell. HopDesk is a flat subscription and nothing else. Card processing fees are charged by Stripe at its standard rates, not by HopDesk.

Create your listing, add your menu, connect your Stripe account so you can take payments, and put up your HopDesk QR signage. Most venues are set up in an afternoon.

No. Every HopSpot gets a pack of round HopDesk window decals, posted to you and included in your subscription.

Yes. You set the hours you want hoppers in, and you can change them whenever you like.

No. A phone or tablet behind the bar to see incoming orders is all you need, and your till system does not need to be connected.

You decide. You choose whether Wi-Fi is revealed to anyone checked in, and whether to offer table reservations at all. HopDesk fits how you already run the place.

HopDesk is designed for your quieter daytime hours and puts paying customers in seats that would otherwise be empty. You stay in full control of your space.

HopDesk is starting in London. We are also piloting with pubs in a market town, a village and a rural spot, because HopDesk is for everyone, not just city centres. After the pilot we will open across one area of London at a time and grow from there.

HopDesk is starting in London, with pilot HopSpots in a market town, a village and a rural spot. If yours is not on the map yet, tell your local publican about us, and join our mailing list to hear as new HopSpots open.

HopDesk was founded by Oliver Roberts and is built by HopDesk Ltd, a UK company registered in England and Wales (company number 15063595). Read Oli's story on the About page.

For workers, your email and the venues you check into, so the service can work. Check-ins are stored as counts for the venue, never as a tracking trail or a location history. You can withdraw consent and delete your account at any time.